Iron holder attachment



Se t. 7, 1965 E. D. STODDARD IRON HOLDER ATTACHMENT Filed April 15, 1963 INVENTOR. Ernesf' D S/oc/dard United States Patent "ice 3,204,903 IRON HOLDER ATTACHMENT Ernest D. Stoddard, 437 Dale Ave, Escondido, Calif. Filed Apr. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 273,205 2 Claims. (Cl. 248117.6)

The present invention relates to a holder and more particularly to a holder which is adapted to support an iron therein and specifically, to an iron holder adapted for positioning on top of an ironing board wherein an iron placed therein is held securely when the ironing board is moved.

At the present there is no known means for resting an iron when one is working with a hot iron on an ironing board table other than propping the iron up on the heel element so that the heating element is separated from the ironing surface. When this is done the iron constitutes an extreme hazard to children, the floor below the ironing board, the ironing board surface, the user thereof and the iron itself. If the ironing board table is jostled or bumped the iron may be tipped off of the table and should the iron fall it either falls on the ironing board surface thereby burning the surface, or it falls on the floor, thereby damaging the floor and the iron, and possibly burning a small child or the user of the iron.

At various times attempts have been made to solve the problem by providing stands which are adapted for placement on the ironing board table which receive the iron by positioning the heating element of the iron parallel to the ironing board surface with a non-conducting heat member thereunder, such as a piece of asbestos or a piece of metallic iron which is relatively non-conductive. Other devices are known which are adapted for connection to a wall for holding the iron therein when the iron is cool.

However, none of these items are practical in that the one which supports the iron in a horizontal position with the heating surface parallel to the ironing surface does not keep the iron from being jostled or knocked off the ironing board. In addition, a support of this type takes up an undue amount of room on the ironing board and therefore is not actively used. The other type, which is supported on the wall and is used to contain a cool iron. is not practical for use when a hot iron is involved as there would be when one is ironing cloths, garments or other materials.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved iron holder.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an iron holder which is adapted to hold an iron in an upright position on an ironing surface.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide an improved iron holder which is adapted to hold the iron in an upright position and securely contain the iron against jostling and knocking over.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved iron holder wherein the iron is contained therein in an upright position and the iron holder is locked against displacement on an ironing board surface.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved iron holder which is inexpensive and simple to fabricate.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide an improved iron holder for use on an ironing board table wherein the iron is held in an upright position and contained against bumping or jostling and falling out of the iron holder and adapted for easy placement and removal of a hot iron in the iron holder.

Various other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of one embodiment of the invention and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.

3,204,903 Patented Sept. 7, 1965 In order to better understand the invention and the advantages thereof, reference is made to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a three'dimensional view of the iron holder showing an iron positioned therein;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the iron holder;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the iron holder;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the iron holder in position on one type of ironing board presently in use;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the locking lever and release position on the ironing board of FIG. 4.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the invention wherein an upper element 10 is provided which is in the form of an arc of a circle. The element 10 is longitudinally spaced from bottom elements 11 and 12 which are also formed in the shape of a circle. The open ends of are 10 and one end of arcs 11 and 12 are joined together by longitudinally extending members 13 and 14 respectively, as shown.

The other ends of arcs 11 and 12 are joined to longitudinally extending members 15 and 16 respectively. The elements 15 and 16 extend away from the arc element 10 and the are elements 11 and 12 are bent at a right angle at near the ends furthest from elements 11 and 12 and joined together by means of a cross member 17. Encircling the cross-member 17 is a locking member 18 having a locking portion 19 adapted to engage the under surface of anironing board and a locking lever 20 adapted to be grasped by a users hand to rotate the locking element 19 into locking engagement with the ironing board surface.

FIG. 2 is a plan elevation of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing the arcuate shape of the upper element 10. In this view the lower elements 11 and 12 lie directly beneath and in the same circular place as the arcuate element 10.

FIG. 3 is an elevation view showing the horizontal spacing between the upright portions 13 and 14. The upright members 13 and 14 are of such a length that the upper arcuate element 10 is preferably longitudinally spaced from the lower elements 11 and 12 a distance such that when an iron is supported in the holder and rests against the element 10 so that the center of gravity of the iron is below the upper element 10. It is also noted at this time that the spacing between the members 13 and 14 is of a distance such that the narrowest dimension of the iron will not pass therethrough. This means that the iron must be lifted bodily into and out of the space bounded by upper element 10. Again, this is done to make the iron more secure in its relationship to the ironing board surface when the iron is in a rest position.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the invention showing the locking member 18 in locking engagement with a type of ironing board wherein the ironing board body is formed of sheet metal and constitutes a hollow member. Initially the iron holder is slid into position longitudinally until the lower arcuate members 11 and 12 are flat against the upper surface of the ironing board and the members 15 and 16 come into contact with one edge of the ironing board. At this time the member 17, about which the locking member 18 rotates, is positioned below and inside the bottom surface of the ironing board. At this point the user grasps the lever 20 and moves it from the position shown in FIG. 5 to the position shown in FIG. 4, thereby causing locking arm 19 to be rotated into firm contact with the under surface of the ironing board.

When this is done, the iron holder is securely aflixed to the upper surface of the ironing board and an iron can be positioned therein as shown in FIG. 1. Due to the fact that the narrowest dimensions of the iron are greater than the separation of the spacing members 13 and 14 the iron cannot slip out of the iron holder and also, due to the fact that the center of gravity of the iron is below the top surface or the top element the iron cannot rotate over andaround the top element 10 of the iron holder unless the ironing board is tilted enough to cause the ironing board itself to fall. 1

The holder is constructed from a low cost material such as basic wire or from a material such a aluminum. For appearance sake the basic wire, if used, is cadmium plated and then may be anodized in any one of a number of col ors. It is to be understood that if a shiny metallic surface is desired, the cadmium plate may be left and no anodizing done.

The arcuate shape of-members 10, 11 and 12 is used in that such a shape is fairly simple to form. However, it is to be understood that other shapes may be used of desired. In addition, the dimension of the elements such as the locking portions may be changed to conform to differenttypes of ironing boards and that the locking member might be spring-loaded into a locking or unlocked position. However, the cost of adding a spring detracts from its use in the present invention. It is also to be understood that other locking means might be used without departing from the scope of the invention illustrated.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art Within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A device for holding a household pressing iron securely in a vertical position onto the top surface of a horizontal surface such as a table top.

said device comprising when in normal use a first and a second horizontal member, a

said first horizontal member being separated from said second horizontal member by a distance suificient to accommodate the thickness of a table top,

a third horizontal member sepaarted from said second horizontal member by a distance to accommodate a household pressing iron,

said second and third horizontal members being connected by first and second generally rigid vertical members which are spaced from each other by a distance sufficient to accommodate the handle of a household pressing iron therebetween,

said third horizontal member being formed as most of a circle with the open portion of the circle comprising the space between said first and second vertical members, said second horizontal member being formed as two generally semicircles. separated at one side by the distance between said first and second vertical member,

and means connected to said first horizontal member to removably fasten said device to a horizontal sur-. face.

2. The device defined in claim 1 further including third and fourth vertical members connecting said first horizontal member to said second horizontal member,

said third and fourth vertical members being connected by a fourth horizontal member,

and means for movably mounting said fastening means to said first horizontal member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 769,875 9/04 Prentice 24-248 1,114,775 10/14 Larson 24248 1,525,454 2/25 Llufrie 24-248 1,613,354 1/27 Mathes 211-16 1,656,320 1/28 Crowder 248--ll7.6 1,894,895 1/33 Steele et a1 24872 2,021,496 11/35 Anger 2481l7.1 2,235,986 3/41 Ellingson 248153 2,603,438 7/52 Adams 248-117.1 2,727,710 12/55 Bidwell 248-1 17.1 2,747,825 5/56 Lachenmayer 248302 X FOREIGN PATENTS 42,034 2/ 17 Sweden. 228,540 6/ Australia.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR HOLDING A HOUSEHOLD PRESSING IRON SECURELY IN A VERTICAL POSITION ONTO THE TOP SURFACE OF A HORIZONTAL SURFACE SUCH AS A TABLE TOP. SAID DEVICE COMPRISING WHEN IN NORMAL USE A FIRST AND A SECOND HORIZONTAL MEMBER, SAID FIRST HORIZONTAL MEMBER BEING SEPARATED FROM SAID SECOND HORIZONTAL MEMBER BY DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO ACCOMMODATE THE THICKNESS OF A TABLE TOP, A THIRD HORIZONATL MEMBER SEPARATED FROM SAID SECOND HORIZONTAL MEMBER BY A DISTANCE TO ACCOMMODATE A HOUSEHOLD PRESSING IRON, SAID SECOND AND THIRD HORIZONTAL MEMBERS BEING CONNECTED BY FIRST AND SECOND GENERALLY RIGID VERTICAL MEMBERS WHICH ARE SPACED FROM EACH OTHER BY A DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO ACCOMMODATE THE HANDLE OF A HOUSEHOLD PRESSING IRON THEREBETWEEN, SAID THIRD HORIZONTAL MEMBER BEING FORMED AS MOST OF A CIRCLE WITH THE OPEN PORTION OF THE CIRCLE COMPRISING SPACE BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND VERTICAL MEMBERS, SAID SECOND HORIZONTAL MEMBER BEING FORMED AS TWO GENERALLY SEMICIRCLES SEPARATED AT ONE SIDE BY THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND VERTICAL MEMBER, AND MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST HORIZONTAL MEMBER TO REMOVABLY FASTEN SAID DEVICE TO A HORIZONTAL SURFACE. 